It has been six days since I've worked out. SIX DAYS. I haven't gone six days without a workout in almost two years. Normally by day three I would be chewing out my husband for some tiny manufactured slight. I would be completely unable to communicate productively with my middle schooler, deciding instead that he must have done something wrong and hunting obsessively until I find it. I would save all my patience for my four year old and then tap out and run to the gym to prevent a complete household meltdown.

That may sound dramatic, but working out keeps me sane. It gives me time to either work through problems or shut out the rest of the world and just have some quiet time (in my head....the gym is loud - barbells and music and grunting and all).

So six days should equal the complete and total collapse of the Bates household!

I'm happy to report that we are all still functioning and the house hasn't burned down. I'm impressed that while I will DEFINITELY be getting to the gym today so I can break this vicious cycle before it becomes a habit, my mental state was not significantly impacted with my lack of physical exercise. I've had people make joking remarks about how they could never quit drinking and raise kids at the same time, and I would always respond that instead, I worked out. But working out is no longer my substitute for a drink. There are days, few and far between, when a drink sounds really good. But really what I need is a healthy way to release emotions that are building up. Working out was always what I turned to but it turns out....I had found other ways of processing when I didn't even realize it: namely talking through them before they get too big, listening to music, snuggling with my daughter, and knitting. Yes, knitting (it's super calming).

I read a lot about accepting and processing emotions in terms of raising kids and helping them find healthy ways to release and express their emotions so they don't get bottled up. Mr. Rogers Neighborhood was created on the premise that children needed to learn how to process emotions in a healthy manner and I'm not above using lessons for children on myself!

So the house didn't blow up and my mental health and relationships are all still in tact! Yay for growth.